1. Field
Exemplary embodiments relate generally to unmanned vehicles, and more particularly to fueling systems for unmanned vehicles.
2. Related Art
A number of Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) have come to be used in modern times, which refer to aircrafts flown without a pilot. A number of different UAVs have grown in modern times. Exemplary types of UAVs offered by the UAV industry may include organic air vehicles (OAVs), micro air vehicles (MAVs), unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs). The present embodiments are described in reference to an MAV, though as noted, the present embodiments may be applied to any type of UAV.
For example, an exemplary MAV may comprise a small (for example, 13-inch) vehicle for autonomous surveillance. The MAV may be small enough for a foot soldier to carry on his or her back and is designed to provide the soldier with improved situational awareness without exposing him or her to enemy fire through, for example, forward- and downward-looking video cameras that relay information to a remote ground station video terminal. Such an exemplary MAV may be used for security, reconnaissance and target acquisition in open, rolling, complex and urban terrain.
UAVs, including MAVs, include fuel pickup systems, which may include one or more internal fuel tanks. The relatively small size, unmanned operation, and physical mechanics of smaller unmanned vehicles such as MAVs make engine stalls and/or failurs, and therefore, undesired catastrophic events an unfortunate reality. There must be a continuous flow of fuel from the fuel tank to the engine to prohibit such engine stalls and/or failures. Unfortunately, the operation of the vehicle results in folding, turning, kinking and swelling of the flexible materials employed in current designs for fuel tanks. As a result, the run time of the engine may be unduly shortened, and a catastrophic failure of the aircraft may occur. What is required is to improve the state of the technology by solving these problems.